Coffee Beans
by Mr. Harlequin
Summary: It's Christmas Eve and world famous rock star, Neji Hyuuga, is walking the streets of Konoha alone. He stops by his favorite Cafe where two of his friends give him some advice.


Authors Note 

**Disclaimer:** I own the world! You must all bow to me! D -answers ringing cell phone- Huh? You didn't succeed with Japan? What! You lost Europe too! You incompetent, stupid, idiotic, little fucktards! You where supposed to get Japan so I could finally own Naruto and turn it into a yaoi series! I can't believe this! Your fired!

Ugh, well I guess I don't own Naruto. --

This is an AU fic.

And for reference, Neko and Roro are me and my beta. I like to have fun with cameos. I'm Roro. And the handcuff joke is an inside thing. It was referencing a crack fic that we wrote.

If you wanna read the crack fic just tell me and I'll send you the link. But beware, it is truly a crackfic.

And without further ado, my fluff fic.

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**Coffee Beans**

"Excuse me, Hyuuga-san?"

Neji turned around and resisted the urge to growl in obvious irritation. Honestly, couldn't they all just leave him be? No one was supposed to be on the streets of this concrete jungle they called Konoha right now. It was late, cold, snowing, and not to mention Christmas Eve. Shouldn't this little kid be home with his family right about now? Opening presents or something?

"Yes?" he replied, only just managing to keep his voice even.

"Um, well . . .um" the boy fidgeted, "Could I have and autograph?" The boy held out a pen and a small notebook.

Neji simply nodded and signed the boy's notebook.

_Thanks for sticking with us. You're a great fan. –Hyuuga Neji_

Neji handed the notebook back to the boy and offered a small smile. He then turned and continued to walk down the street.

All these fans where getting on Neji's last nerve. He was a creature of solitude and if he'd known that being the guitarist in the (now famous) rock band Pins N' Needlez would have deprived him of his privacy, then he wouldn't have let his two band mates, Gaara and Lee get him into it. So what if he was the best guitar player around then (and now), they could have found someone else right? Sadly though, they had figured out his weakness.

Only his cousin, sweet, pretty little Hinata-chan could make him do anything he didn't want to, and the bastards found that out pretty quickly. Especially after the three of them had succeeded in getting him to admit he was gay, something he hadn't even admitted to himself at the time. At least the press didn't get a hold of that information as of yet. They would have a field day with it.

Neji pulled himself from his thoughts and stopped walking. He looked to his right and found that he was outside of his favorite café that was owned by two of his good friends. It was called "Better Than Starbucks!" He rolled his eyes every time he saw that sign. Only they could think of such and idiotic name and think it was cool.

He pushed the door open and inwardly cringed as the small bell in the doorway chimed, signaling his arrival. He looked around quickly, ready to run if anyone should happen to glance over and recognize him. Relaxing when no one was spotted he made his way through the empty shop to the counter where the register was located. No one was there either. Where were those two?

"Roro? Neko-chan?" Neji called, using the nicknames that the two girls had made up themselves and threatened everyone into calling them by.

There was a bit of shuffling in the back room and a quick muffled argument. From what Neji could hear, it was something about lost handcuffs. Neji stopped listening, he didn't want to know what they where doing with handcuffs. Actually, he never wanted to know what they where up to. If told the truth, he might not be able to handle it.

He called them again, and this time someone dressed in a purple apron came tumbling out of the back door. He looked over the counter to see who it was. The girl on the floor had black hair pulled up in a hair clip, and her black glasses had slipped off of her nose.

"Ugh" she groaned, "hey Nej. How's it goin?"

"Um, Roro? Maybe if you would walk instead of run once in a while, you wouldn't trip so much." Neji replied.

"Oh shut up," Roro snapped as she put her glasses back on and stood up. She brushed dust off of her apron as she approached the cash register, leaning on the counter and putting her chin in her hands as she reached it. "What are you doing out on Christmas Eve? Shouldn't you be at home?" and then after a bit of thought she added, "With your family?"

Neji gave her a bored look, "You know I hate those people. Hinata's the only one I can stand. Besides" he said shrugging his shoulders, "I could ask you the same thing."

"Aaaah, but technically I'm not out. Me and Neko live in the flat up stairs remember? We where actually about to close up soon."

"Oh." Neji answered, a little disappointed. He'd planned on hanging out with the two for the night. Oh well. He'd just spend Christmas alone; it wasn't as if he hadn't done it before.

"You know Neji," another voice said, "You need a boyfriend."

Another girl, a little older than Roro, walked out of the back room jingling a ring of keys. She had long brown hair, and was wearing an apron identical to Roro's.

Neji raised an eyebrow in amusement. Oddly enough, no on had ever told him that before. "Do I? Why is that?"

"Because you're lonely." Roro said softly. Her eyes where sad, and Neji clearly saw the concern in them. He inwardly sighed. He didn't want his friends to be worried.

Neko spoke up again, "Neji, you work all the time and then come in here to help out every time your off, and I've never seen you go out to just have fun. Hell! I don't even think you have a hobby!"

"I do too have hobbies!" Neji said, taken aback. Was his depression that obvious? These two saw straight through his calm façade. Ugh. They where more perceptive than they let on.

Roro simply looked at him and replied, "Whatever you say Nej. It's just . . . we worry about you. Your workaholic attitude isn't healthy. You never even come with us to a club for a night out unless we force you to."

"Well . . . do you have a boyfriend?" Neji said a bit defensively.

Neko was the one who spoke up. "Yes."

"Not you Neko. We already know about the dude with the weird name."

"Duo is not a weird name! It's um," Neko paused as she tried to think of something to say, "Very . . . exotic?"

Roro snorted, "Yeah whatever." She then shifted her gaze back to Neji, "No, I don't have a boyfriend. But I do have my eye on someone."

"And who is that?" Neji asked, raising his eyebrow.

"No one you need to know of," Roro replied, her face remaining blank, "but the fact still remains that your lonely, depressed, and in need of some good lovin!"

Neji blanched at the sudden turn in the conversation. Only these two could morph a completely normal discussion into a perverted one. That was his cue.

"Ok, well since you guys are closing I'm gonna head out," Neji said before Neko could add in her two cents. He gave a small wave and turned around, heading for the door.

"Oh wait!" called Neko.

Neji stopped and turned his head, to watch what she was doing. Neko had disappeared behind the counter, and when she resurfaced she was holding two coffee cups. She walked over to the coffee pot and filled the cups, adding vanilla syrup in it for flavor. A bit of whip cream was added to the top before the cups where topped with lids, and slid into the small, cardboard, heat sleeves. Neko stretched her arms out over the counter, handing the cups to Neji. "Here, take these. It's cold out there." She caught his questioning gaze after he took the coffees, "The second one's just in case you happen by a cute boy." Neko winked and tossed the ring of keys she had been holding to Roro, who caught them, before walking into the backroom again.

Neji shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. The soft sounds of his footsteps where all that was heard as he left the shop, the bell above the door signaling his exit.

* * *

Neji sighed.

When he'd left the café he'd just sipped one of the coffees and let his feet take him wherever they wanted. He was now looking at the entrance to the big city park.

It was always beautiful this time of year. The tree leaves had all gone and where replaced with sparkling white snow, which would fall off the trees every now and then. It was still snowing outside, and the flakes where falling lazily to the ground with no wind to whisk them about. Neji smiled softly and walked through the park, heading for his favorite fountain at the west end. No one ever went there since it was the oldest part of the park and he was always able to find the peace and quiet he desired.

He found his spot and took in the sight.

The water in the fountain had frozen over and the angel in the middle that spouted the water was covered in snow and icicles. It sparkled like stars in the moonlight.

Neji looked around for the bench, but his eyes widened a bit as he noticed, someone was already sitting there.

The person hadn't noticed him yet, so Neji took the chance to study him. Yes, it was a boy. He looked to be about Neji's age, a bit younger maybe. He had black hair that was spiked back into a rooster tail, with long black bangs hanging in his face. He was pale like Neji, but Neji was still paler. The boy had coal black eyes, which at the moment, where gazing at the frozen fountain with a distant look. His face held no discernable expression and he sat slouched on the bench with both hands in his coat pockets. His face looked as if it was carved from marble, soft and beautiful. Neji recognized him from somewhere, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

With some difficulty, Neji brought himself back down to reality and walked forward towards the bench. In silence, he sat down on the bench next to the boy and set the extra coffee on the space in between them. They sat in silence, watching the snow fall around the fountain. Had this boy even noticed his presence yet? He hadn't made any sings of acknowledgement. Hadn't even glanced at Neji, or moved at all for that matter.

A few more minutes passed before the boy spoke.

"You're Neji Hyuuga." It wasn't a question.

"Yes." Neji answered evenly, not taking his eyes off the statue.

"Should you be out in the open like this?" the boy questioned.

Neji finally turned to look at the boy whom he found, to his surprise, was looking at him with a calculating gaze. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Don't you have rabid fangirls somewhere ready to jump you?" asked the boy, raising an eyebrow.

Neji laughed, something he hadn't done in a long time. "Not that I know of, though I wouldn't be surprised." It wasn't Neji's intention to sound cocky, and by the boy's facial expression, he figured he'd gotten that point across.

"Hn," the boy said. He turned his attention back to the statue.

Neji was normally a quiet and anti-social guy, but suddenly feeling the need for company, he wasn't willing to let the conversation die. "What's your name?"

It took him a minute to respond, the boy seemed to be deciding whether or not it was a good idea to divulge this information, but eventually he replied. "Sasuke."

"Got a last name Sasuke?"

"Uchiha."

"Uchiha?. . ." Neji said, a little disbelieving. The Uchiha's actually owned the music label his band was signed onto. They where a big family and almost as famous as the bands they signed, but a few years back there was a big scandal. The whole family was murdered except for two of them. Sasuke, and Sasuke's older brother Itachi. Neji had only ever met Itachi, it was usually Gaara who handled their financial and legal matters so Neji had only met him once. Now however, Neji knew where he had seen Sasuke before. "Well that's interesting."

There was silence again. A more comfortable one than the first one though. Sasuke was the first to break it, when he pointed to the extra coffee.

"Who's that for?"

Neji looked down at it. He'd almost forgotten it was there. He smiled and picked it up, handing it to Sasuke. "For you."

Sasuke rose and eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"My friend gave it to me. She said I should give it to a cute boy."

A pink blush rose on Sasuke's cheeks and he bent his head to hide his face behind his bangs. He took the coffee and sipped at it. "Thank you." He mumbled, still blushing.

Oh? A blush? Had Neji been a fangirl he would have squealed in delight. If Sasuke was blushing that meant he most likely wasn't straight. Neji may have a chance here.

Neji leaned back on the bench, relaxing. Managing to appear nonchalant he looked over at Sasuke and casually said, "We should hang out sometime."

Sasuke's eyes widened in obvious surprise and he looked back at Neji. Had the Hyuuga Neji just asked him out on a date? Well, not really a date, but close enough. "Um, y-yeah. Th-that sounds cool." Damnit! He was stuttering! Real smooth Uchiha, real smooth.

Neji chuckled at Sasuke's obvious nervousness. He looked at the space on the bench between them, Sasuke's hand was there. Neji rested his own hand over Sasuke's, and entwined there fingers together.

They sat there on the bench. The snow falling around them and the moonlight making everything sparkle, holding hands like they had been doing it for years.

And Neji was happy. It had been a long while since he had felt this way and at first he almost didn't recognize the feeling. The one that warmed his body and turned his heart to mush. He smiled again for what felt like the twentieth time that night as he remembered his friend's words earlier that evening.

Maybe those two where right, he needed a boyfriend.


End file.
